Back to School
by secretreciPIE
Summary: James is Head Boy, Lily is Head Girl, the Marauders are causing mayhem and there's a new girl at Hogwarts. Remus gets a girlfriend, Peter meets some death eaters and everything is going crazy.
1. Chapter 1

Lily Evans was ready for her last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Standing at a respectable 5'8, with vivid red hair and striking green eyes, Lily was not one to disappear in a crowd. This was probably how James Potter managed to find her so quickly on the crowded platform of 9 ¾.

"Evans! Oi, Evans! Need some help with your trunk?" Potter asked. Lily regarded him suspiciously. "That depends, Potter," she replied. "Am I ever going to see it again if I say yes?" James smirked, "Now, that wouldn't be behavior befitting the Head Boy now, would it?" he said. Lily's froze in shock, horrified. "You're Head Boy?" she asked, disbelieving. "Did Dumbledore lose his mind?" _How can I possibly survive this year if I have to deal with this blockhead all the time? _She wondered despairingly. James only laughed. "That's what Sirius said as well," he said. "Now, do you want help with that trunk or not?" Lily nodded numbly. "Thanks, Potter. Don't forget we have a Heads meeting twenty minutes after the train leaves the station. Don't be late." She said as he heaved her trunk onto the train. "Wouldn't dream of it. See you around, Evans!" He said cheerfully, waving as he ducked into a nearby compartment. Lily stood motionless for a moment as she processed the fact that not only had she just conversed with Potter in a civil manner, but he had actually been_—_dare she say it?—nice to her. Maybe this year wouldn't be as bad at she had originally thought

Sirius Black watched as James Potter talked to Lily Evans on the platform. Tall, dark and handsome, Sirius was never left wanting for female company. Despite this, he had never found a girl who made him feel the way James obviously did for Lily, and so could never understand why James chose to be shot down year after year by a girl who obviously couldn't stand him. "This year will be different, Padfoot," James had always said. "This year, she'll say yes". "What's the plan for this year?" Sirius asked, as James opened the compartment door, carrying Lily's trunk. "This year," James replied, his hazel eyes glinting with mischief behind his rectangular glasses, "she'll say yes." James grinned widely, and sat down across from him. "Where are Moony and Wormtail?" He asked cheerfully. "Dunno, reckon they're late," Sirius said as he shuffled a deck of Exploding Snap cards. "Fancy a game?" "Don't start without us," a new voice said. Sirius and James both looked up and grinned when they saw the third and fourth members of the Marauders enter their compartment. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew heaved their trunks into the overhead racks and sat down. "Prongs, is this the year she says yes?" he teased lightly. Sirius smirked, "He reckons so yeah. Prongs here is really looking forward to "Head duties", aren't you— Ow! What was that for you git!" Sirius rubbed his head where James had smacked him. "Shut up you prat," James said, running his hand through his hair. "You'll see. She won't be able to resist the famous Potter charm this year!" Remus rolled his eyes. "I would find that a lot easier to believe," he said dryly, "if you didn't say that every year." James glared at him. "Who's side are you on, Moony," he demanded, feigning injury. Peter snorted at James' faux-hurt expression. "Gits…" James grumbled. Sirius' bark like laugh followed this pronouncement, and he leaned forward, setting up the Exploding Snap game. "This is our last year at Hoggy-warts, " Sirius said seriously, "we need to cause as much mayhem as possible." James and Remus both frowned. "Oh come off it, " cried Sirius. "Just because you want to impress Evans doesn't mean you can't have some fun! Think about it! This is the last year we can prank Snivellus!" James' lips twitched upwards at that, but Remus still looked thoughtful. "I dunno… I think this year we should try and prank the whole school, instead of just one person," he said. "I mean, what with the mounting tensions outside of school… I reckon everyone could use a laugh, don't you?" Peter nodded in agreement. "Prongs? How about it?" Sirius asked, eyes bright with excitement. "I've got the perfect back-to-school prank planned." James broke into a grin. "The whole school? Hell yes." He said. "Hogwarts, watch out." Sirius cheered, just as the whole pack of Exploding Snap cards blew up in his face.


	2. Chapter 2

The door to the Prefects carriage slid open, and James Potter walked in. "Evans? You here, Evans?" "I am now. Now move you prat, you're blocking the doorway." Came Lily Evans' irritated voice from behind him. James hastily moved out of the way, nearly tripping over his own foot. "Sorry, Evans. Didn't see you there. So, Head duties…" James wasn't sure how to behave. He'd never been a prefect, so this was all completely new to him. Lily glared at him. "Listen to me, Potter. I don't know what Dumbledore was thinking, making you Head Boy, but you had better live up to that badge you're wearing. When we have duties to do together, you better do them and do them well, is that understood?" James was furious. "I don't know where you get off telling me off like that, Evans," he spat, "but I had no intention of abusing my power, or neglecting my responsibilities. Just because you don't like me isn't an excuse to be rude and disrespectful. I realize I wasn't the most obvious choice for Head Boy, especially since I was never a prefect, but I do intend to show Dumbledore that he made the right choice when he chose me." He ranted angrily. Lily blinked in surprise. She had not expected that sort of indignance from James Potter. "Er… well good. Let's get on with it then." Slightly mollified, Lily explained the duties of the Head Boy and Girl to James. "So basically oversee the prefects, organize the patrol duties and do some of aforementioned patrol duties? And we get to assign detentions and dock points as long as we submit a report of whatever incident warranted the detention or point deduction to the offenders' Head of House, who can nullify it or increase the severity of it if they see fit?" James summarized. Lily nodded. "Right then, is that all?" he said, getting up to leave. "No, there's a prefect meeting in five minutes where we assign rounds for the first week of term, as well as assign train patrol duty. Then you can leave." James nodded and sat back down. "So…er… How was your summer?" He asked. _How was your summer? _He mentally berated himself. _Seriously? The girl you've fancied for as long as you remember is, for once, not tearing into you, and all you can ask her is how her summer was?_ Lily was likewise taken aback. _He didn't ask me out? He actually seems interested in knowing how I've been? Who is this and what has he done with the arrogant toe-rag I know as James Potter?_ She smiled though, and replied that it had been fairly normal, what about him? James opened his mouth to respond when the door of the prefects carriage opened and Remus Lupin, Amos Diggory and a fifth year Ravenclaw prefect he was fairly sure was called Dorcas Meadowes, walked in. "Am I in the right carriage?" Remus joked. "Lily Evans and James Potter have been in the same space and jinxes haven't been thrown yet? What twisted world am I in?" "Shut up, Moony," James said good naturedly. "I'm told that I now have the power to put you on the midnight patrol. Better be careful how you speak to me," He teased. "Yes, o powerful one," Remus ribbed back. Lily giggled, and James stared at her. "What?" she said, self-consciously. "Nothing," James replied, turning away. _I made her laugh! _He thought to himself, as the door slid open and the rest of the Prefects came trooping in.

"Hi guys, I'm pretty sure you all know who we both are, but just in case, I'm James Potter, and this lovely lady is Lily Evans, and we're your Heads this year. We've drawn up a schedule for the patrol duties for the first week of term, after which we'll have another meeting in the Prefect's room, Friday, at 6 o'clock, to divvy up the patrols for the next month or so. So that's going to be over there," James indicated the piece of paper that he and Lily had used to organize the patrol duties, "sign up before you leave. Passwords to your common rooms are with me, I'll call out your house and the sixth year prefects will come forward, and I will inform them of the password."

"Additionally," Lily added, "we're going to need volunteers for train patrol. We've got a schedule for that as well, on the other table, so just fill both those sheets in, remember when your patrol shift is and you can go. Both these schedules will be copied and handed out to you tomorrow at breakfast. Remember, all patrols should be done in pairs, and if too many slots are left blank, we," Lily indicated James and herself, "will have to assign prefects to the patrols." The prefects all nodded and moved up to fill in the two sheets. "That went rather well," James remarked. Lily nodded. She'd been slightly surprised at how quickly and efficiently James had taken control of the meeting. "By the way, Evans, seeing as we'll be working pretty closely for the next year," James said, "can we call a truce?" Lily eyed him suspiciously, but had to admit that he was making sense. In fact, she'd been thinking nearly the same thing. "I agree," she replied. "So... friends?" He asked hopefully. Lily narrowed her eyes. "More like... not-enemies." She replied. "Not-enemies-that-are-on-a-first-name-basis?" He asked. Lily's lips twitched upward. "Fine." He smiled then, not his usual smirk. _He's looks good when he smiles,_ Lily thought to herself. _Wait what? No he doesn't. He's a git and you do not fancy him in the slightest. _She mentally reprimanded herself. "See you around, Lily!" James said as he turned to leave. "Yeah, see you... James," Lily replied. James flashed her a grin, and closed the door behind him._  
_


	3. Chapter 3

"And PADFOOT WINS AGAIN!" Sirius hollered loudly, as he triumphantly gathered up his Exploding Snap "winnings"—a bag of Bertie Bott's beans, a single bar of Honeydukes chocolate and two chocolate frog cards, Aggripa and Dumbledore- and stuffed them in his pockets. James scowled and ran a hand through his hair in agitation, about to demand a rematch, when the cabin door slid open to reveal Lily Evans. "Ev—Lily! To what do I owe the pleasure!" James said, hand jumping to his hair again. "We're almost at Hogwarts, get your things. The Heads always ride a different route so we get to the castle before the rest of the school does. We'll have a quick meeting with the headmaster and the Heads of the Houses, and then go for the Sorting." She explained. "Oh, right. I'm ready to go, " James stood up. "See you guys at the Sorting, yeah?" "See ya Prongs," Sirius waved him away. "Who else wants to challenge the mighty Padfoot, King of Snap?" He asked. Rolling his eyes, James exited his compartment with Lily.

As they walked down the train corridors, James ruffled his hair nervously. What should he say? Should he even say anything? Where were they going—"Would you please stop that?" Lily snapped at him. "Stop what?" James asked, genuinely confused. "Ruffling you hair like that. It's irritating and looks terrible." James dropped his hand immediately, "Nice to know you pay attention to how my hair looks, Lily-flower," He winked, and immediately regretted it, as Lily fixed him with a glare._ To think I thought he'd changed…_ Lily thought to herself. "Stop being such a prick, Potter." She snapped. "I thought we were being not-enemies-on-first-name-terms?" He asked, bewildered. "Only when you're not being a git, Potter," Lily said, but she didn't sound that angry. James blinked, and sighed. Why were girls so complicated? They walked in silence until they came to a door with a large, purple H painted on it. "This is the "Heads" door, then?" James asked hesitantly. Lily nodded. James wisely chose to remain quiet until the train drew to a halt. "Shall we?" He asked, smiling. Lily nodded and opened the door.

James and Lily stepped out onto the Hogwarts platform. There, waiting for them, was one of the horseless carriages that they had ridden to Hogwarts for the last 5 years. As they climbed in, Lily cleared her throat. "Er, Potte- James, I uh, wanted to apologize for what I said on the train. I was snappish, and you didn't deserve that. I'm sorry." Her face burned. _This is so embarrassing, why am I even apologizing to him? _But James just nodded and said, "That's fine, " and turned away from her. They rode up to the castle in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

As they made their way up to Dumbledore's office, Lily Evans watched James Potter. It was undeniable to her that he had changed over the summer. He seemed much more mature than he had been. She flushed as she realized that in their interactions today, she had been the one who had lashed out and provoked him, rather than the other way round. _Lily Evans, when James Potter is more mature than you, there is a problem._ She chided herself. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was attractive; there was no denying that. He did not have the same suave handsomeness of Sirius Black, but he had a kind of rougish, playful good looks, as well as an athletic build and outgoing personality, that made him just as popular among the females of Hogwarts as his best friend. _I think I'd fancy him_, Lily thought to herself, _if he wasn't such a berk._ Lily was so lost in her thoughts that she walked straight into James' back. She stumbled back, losing her balance and fell, only to be caught by a pair of muscular arms. James Potter's hazel eyes met her green ones. "You alright," he asked as he gently set her on her feet. "Yeah… fine…" she breathed, heart hammering. _Must be the adrenaline,_ she thought. "Just… didn't see you there." James nodded. "Do you… er… Do you know the password?" Lily looked around and realized that they had already arrived at the Headmaster's office. She shook her head. "Bollocks," James muttered. He walked up to the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office and rapped it on the head. "Oi, you. Can you tell Professor Dumbledore that the Head Girl and Head Boy are waiting outside?" No sooner had he spoken than the gargoyle leapt aside. James raised his eyebrows and stepped forward, onto the moving staircase. "Come on then, Lily," he called. Lily hurried after him. The staircase ground to a halt in front of Professor Dumbledore's door. James turned to Lily, grinning. "Never thought I'd be called up to see the Headmaster this early in the year, " he joked, as he rapped on the door with his knuckles. Lily felt her mouth twitch upwards. "Didn't you get detention on the first day of school once, though?" She asked. "That does sound familiar… I think that was when we jinxed all the Slytherin cutlery to turn into feather dusters and attack them. One of the rogue dusters ended up assaulting Professor Hayes. He wasn't very happy about that. Detention for a week." He shot back, eyes bright with laughter. "Impressive spellwork though," Lily replied. "Indeed," the voice of Albus Dumbledore interrupted. "However, as much as I would love to hear more about Mr. Potter's various well-earned detentions," James shot Dumbledore a sheepish grin, which was returned with a benign smile, "we have a few things to take care of today."

Dumbledore ushered them into his office. High ceilinged and unexpectedly large, it was full of books and delicate silver instruments, one of which would release puffs of pale blue smoke at regular intervals. A girl was seated in front of Dumbledore's desk, and she hastily sprang to her feet. She was about the same height as Lily, James thought, with long brown hair. "Ms Evans, Mr Potter, this is Jess Peters. Jess is a transfer from Salem Witch Academy in the United States, and will be in 7th year with you both. I expect you to help her settle in. Jess, please meet Lily Evans and James Potter, the Head Girl and Boy of Hogwarts." Jess smiled at them both. "Nice to meet you," she said, in a strong American accent. "You too," James replied. "Ms Peters will be sorted with the first years. However, I expect you to help ease her transition to Hogwarts no matter what House she is sorted into." Lily and James both nodded. Dumbledore smiled at them approvingly. "Ms Peters, that will be all for now. Professor McGonagall will take you down to be sorted in a moment, after she and the other Heads of House speak to Mr Potter and Ms Evans." A soft knock on the door signaled the entrance of Professors McGonagall, Slughorn, Flitwick and Sprout. "Lily m'girl," Slughorn boomed, "I knew it'd be you, couldn't imagine anyone else for the job". Lily smiled at the Potions Master. "Thank you, sir," she replied demurely.

The Heads of Houses quickly debriefed the Head Students on the responsibilities of their position, and soon after, all seven left to attend the Sorting.


	5. Chapter 5

"Prongs! Over here mate!" Peter called to James. James turned, and spotted his friends seated at the Gryffindor table. He jogged towards them and sat down next to Sirius. "Dumbles say anything interesting?" Sirius asked offhandedly, as he twitched his wand towards the Hufflepuff table. "Actually, yeah. There's a new girl from America, a transfer student. Her name is Jess Peters, and she's in our year," James responded. Sirius nodded, continuing to swish his wand, muttering under his breath. "Er, Sirius mate, what are you doing?" James asked, bemused. "Beginning of term prank," Remus replied. "It'll be quite amusing, I assure you." James raised an eyebrow. "If you say so," "So," Sirius said, stowing his wand in his sleeve and turning to face James. "New student eh? What's she look like? She fit?" James rolled his eyes. "Pretty average, honestly. I think she's definitely got some Asian ancestry. Brown eyes, brown hair." Sirius sighed disappointedly. "Why don't we ever get buxom blonde beauties?" He shook his fist in mock rage.

"Oh shut it, you great prat," James chided affectionately. "Look, there she is with the firsties,"

Sure enough, the doors to the Great Hall had swung open and Professor McGonagall was leading this years First years, plus Jess Peters through the Hall to be Sorted.

There was silence for a moment, then the Sorting Hat opened it's mouth and began to sing.

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat then me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve and chivalry,  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin,  
Where you'll meet your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means,  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For a Thinking Cap."_

Polite applause rang out in the Great Hall, and Professor McGonagall stepped forward, unrolling a scroll.

"I will call your name, and you will step forward and place the Sorting Hat on your head. Upon being sorted, you will head towards your new House table." She said, sternly peering over her glasses.

"Abraham, Malcom"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Allred, Joseph"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Belwick, Leah"  
"RAVENCLAW"

"Belwick, Liam"

The hat took a while for Liam Belwick, before announcing loudly,

"RAVENCLAW"

"Awful lot of Ravenclaws this year," James remarked. "It's one of the neutral houses," Remus pointed out. Sirius nodded. "Gryffindor is one of the "Light" houses, and so is Hufflepuff. Slytherin is seen as a "Dark" house, but Ravenclaw is somewhere in between." He explained. Peter shushed them. "I want to see the new girl get sorted!" He complained.

And sure enough, while they'd been talking, McGonagall had gone through the C's, (Cornfoot, Stella- Hufflepuff), D's (Dearborn, Caradoc-Gryffindor, Delmond, Katrina, Ravenclaw), G's (Greengrass, Ophelia—Slytherin, Gardman, Derrick—Slythering, Gabby, Gerome—Slytherin, Goldstein, Alan- Ravenclaw) and K's (Karter, Ingram- Gryffindor, Kendel, Malia—Gryffindor, Kaigle, Donoghue-Hufflepuff) .

Mackayan, Martin became a Gryffindor, and James and Sirius cheered loudly as he walked unsteadily towards their table.

"Peters, Jessica"

Jessica Peters walked up to the Sorting Hat, and slipped it on.

_Um… Hello? _She thought, feeling rather stupid. _Is this working? _**An American? And a transfer! How interesting…. Well Ms Peters? Do you have a house preference? You have a keen wit, but no thirst for learning… Very intelligent, but too lazy to put it to use… I don't think Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw are for you. **_ Isn't one of the Hufflepuff values loyalty? I'm loyal! I could fit in there, I think…_ Jess thought uncertainly. The equivalent of a mental laugh came from the Sorting Hat. **Loyalty and hard-work sets Hufflepuff apart… No, I think you would be better in Slytherin or Gryffindor… Cunning you have… and a strong sense of self-preservation… Ambition yes… but once again, lacking the drive behind it… You are a puzzle… You want to prove yourself, but sometimes you lack the courage to stand up for what you believe in… You would learn much from either house… So Ms Peters, where do YOU want to go? **The Sorting Hat asked. Jess frowned. _Gryffindor is the house for the brave, and Slytherin is the house of the ambitious, am I right? And this Voldemort fellow, he was in Slytherin? _She asked uncertainly. **Indeed,** the Hat replied. _I think… being a Slytherin at this point in history would close too many doors, _she thought, aware that this thinking process was decidedly Slytherin. _So I guess I choose…_

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted.


	6. Chapter 6

James cheered loudly as Jess walked towards the Gryffindor table. Catching her eye, he motioned for her to sit next to him. A look of relief flitted over her face as she sat down. "'lo there," Sirius said. "Hi," she replied uncertainly. "Um.. I'm Jess." She added, as an afterthought. Remus, picking up on her discomfort stretched out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Remus Lupin. I'm in seventh year as well. This is Sirius Black, that's Peter Pettigrew," he said, pointing at each person in turn, "and I'm told you've already met our Head Boy, James Potter." James winked at her. Jess smiled back. Sirius tilted his head. "What brings you to the UK, Jessica?" He asked, flashing her a smile. "Well my parents-" she began, but Sirius held up a hand. "Hold onto that thought for a minute," he told her, as "Xavier, Anna" became a Gryffindor. "Sorting's over," Sirius continued, with a glint in his eye. Jess frowned. "Is there some sort of Sorting tradition I wasn't told about?" She asked in confusion. "Well, in a manner of speaking," Peter said. "You see," James continued, "What our much beloved Moony has neglected to mention," "Is that the four of us, collectively known as the Marauders," interrupted Sirius, "Have our own tradition, known as the," Remus picked up smoothly, "post-Sorting prank!" James finished. Jess laughed. "You guys are ridiculous," she said, grinning. "So what is it this year?" She asked. "Wait and see, love." Sirius said, adding a wink for good measure. Jess snorted. _Is that how all of them talk? I mean I've been here a week and everyone's like, "Oh deary, darling, sweetest, love, could you please past the doily thank you ever so much," _she thought to herself as Dumbledore rose to his feet.

No sooner had he stepped forward when the rest of the school, Marauders included, felt themselves lifting onto their feet and beginning to tap dance to operatic music that was coming from the Slytherin table. Jess turned her head and saw that a lanky, sallow boy with greasy hair and a hooked nose was the one singing. The absurdity of the entire situation caused Jess to break into laughter, and her laughter cut through the confusion in the Great Hall, ringing out loudly, causing all heads to turn to her. She shut her mouth abruptly, flushing. The tapdancing students stared at her for a moment before they too began laughing.

Eventually, Sirius' jinx had worn off, and after Dumbledore's customary speech, they settled down to begin the Welcome Feast. "That was amazing!" Jess said. "How did you do it?" Sirius grinned as he helped himself to a large leg of chicken. "Marauder's secret," he said seriously. "So, Jess," Remus commented, "You never did tell us about yourself…" Jess smiled at him. "Not much to tell, really. My dad's American, mom's Chinese, and we lived in Asia for a while until I got my letter. Then we decided to get my magical education in America, moved there, spent six years in Massachusetts, then my dad got a job offer over here, and we moved again." "That sounds so cool!" James exclaimed. "What does your dad do?" "He deals with law and law enforcement mostly, but not with the Ministry of Magic," Jess replied smoothly. " "So what's your blood status?" Peter asked. Jess turned to him, face blank. "What does it matter?" She shot back. "It doesn't," Remus hastily assured. "Isn't there some kind of war going on about it, though?" Jess asked, unperturbed. "Voldemort or someth-" A loud clatter interrupted her as Peter knocked over his goblet. "What's the matter?" Jess asked. "Don't say his name!" Peter said anxiously. "He'll know!" Jess laughed. "That's ridiculous. Besides, even if that were true, I think Voldemort has better things to do with his time than to hunt down one seventh year student who said his name." James nodded, and gave her a thumbs up, as he shoveled shepherd's pie into his mouth. "Tha's righ' Wor'y, " he agreed. "Prongs, that's disgusting," Sirius told him. Jess smirked at the Marauder's antics, as she helped herself to a plate of rice and lentils.

"Are they like this all the time?" She asked Remus, who had set his fork and knife down and seemed to be calmly awaiting dessert. "Worse," he replied, smiling gently at her. _I like them. _ Jess decided. _ They seem like really cool people._ "What classes are you taking, Remus?" She asked. He frowned as he thought about it for a moment. "Er… N.E.W.T level Transfiguration, Charms, Defense against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical creatures, regular Ancient Runes, Potions and Arithmancy. How about you?" Jess fidgeted as she recited the classes she had tested into. "N.E.W.T level Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense against the Dark arts, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures, and regular Arithmancy." James choked on his treacle. "You're taking _seven_ N.E.W.T.s ? How is that possible?" He asked, eyes watering. "Nevermind that," Sirius interrupted, "Why aren't you in Ravenclaw?" he demanded. Jess laughed weakly. "Um… I guess we just have a different system in America? We have different exams and a different system, so we learn things at a different rate I guess. Don't worry, I'm actually not very good at Potions, and even though I'm okay at Charms I still have trouble sometimes." She explained. "And the Hat thought I didn't appreciate knowledge enough to be in Ravenclaw, and too lazy to be in Hufflepuff," she laughed.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. _The sorting hat took a long time sorting her... it almost seemed like a Hat Stall... and if it eliminated both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw that means that if it was a Hat Stall, then she would have been told to choose between Slytherin and Gryffindor... Which means she's at least an adequate match for Slytherin._ "How about Slytherin?" He asked, watching the transfer student carefully. _What's going on? _Jess wondered, as the other Marauders also stopped eating to gauge her reaction. "Um.. well it couldn't decide between Slytherin and Gryffindor, so it asked me to choose," she answered hesitantly. Sirius' eyebrow climbed even higher. _So I was right. She fits into both houses, so the question is, is she a lion in snakes clothing, or a snake playing at being a lion._ "The Sorting Hat let you _choose_ what house you wanted to be in?" He said, skeptically. "Yeah. I figured Gryffindor would be a better choice, seeing as there's clearly anti-Slytherin sentiment prevalent in Britain," she explained. Sirius snorted. _She sounds just like Regulus did when he was trying to persuade Walburga not to disown me._ "Spoken like a true snake," he growled. "I'm sorry," Jess retorted, feeling her face heat up in anger. "Is there something wrong with being in Slytherin?" "Of course there is! Slytherin's are a bunch of no good, dark gits. They're death eaters, the whole lot of them, and you're no better!" He spat. "How dare you! This sort of prejudice is exactly what's causing problems in your country! I've had to put up with bigotry because of my heritage, no matter where I've lived, and I thought maybe here it'd be different, but I was wrong. You're just as bad as the people you claim to hate!" Jess snarled, her voice rising. "Sirius didn't mean it like that," James began. "Yes I did," Sirius shot back. James glared at him. "Jess, we don't-" "Save it Potter." Jess snapped, and she stood up abruptly, and exited the Great Hall, fuming.


	7. Chapter 7

She found Jessica growling under her breath, climbing one of the stairs up to the Gryffindor dormitory. "Jessica! Jessica, wait!" She called. The brunette turned and glared at her. "What do you want?" She snapped. "I just- are you okay? I know Potter can be an arse, but that's just how he is, I'm sure he didn't mean whatever he said—" "Potter? You mean James? No, James was perfectly pleasant," Jessica ground out. Lily blinked. _Potter was pleasant? He really has changed. _"Then—" "Sirius Black told me that I was one of a bunch of "no good, dark gits". Or something like that," the American girl fumed. "All because of a Hat Stool? Stall? Or something. It's ridiculous!" she threw up her hands in exasperation. Unsure of what to do, Lily patted her arm uncertainly. "Well I can assure you that Sirius Black is an enormous berk, and you shouldn't take anything he has to say personally," she replied. Jessica nodded. "I know, I know, but the thing is, until he said that," she said, and then exhaled in a long gusty sigh. "I dunno, I kind of liked him. I thought we'd be friends, y'know?" Lily nodded silently. "Let's get you up to Gryffindor tower. You must be tired. When did you get here again?" She said, leading Jessica up the stairs. "About a week ago, but I'm mostly over the time difference now," she said. Lily smiled. "Great! So, tell me, what's school in America like?"

At this question, Jessica's face lit up. It was obvious that she had loved her old school. "Oh it's great! The system is totally different from here though. For the first two years, it's basically the same—we take History of Magic, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense, all the basics, but we also take the basic forms of the electives—Divination, Arithmancy, Healing, Spell creation and all that. We have eight classes per day and our school has a sort of revolving time table. Anyway, after second year we refine our choices and decide which classes we want to focus on, and if you're good enough you can even get mentorships," she launched into an explanation of the ins and outs of Salem Academy education. "Instead of final exams, we have a project we work on the whole year for each subject. In third year, for my Charms project I made a map of the school that could show you where everyone was and it got published in a Charms newsletter! And for Spell Creation, I created a spell that could calculate exactly how far you were from a particular place, as well as provide suggestions on how to get there, if you applied it to a piece of paper. I'm so disappointed that they don't have Spell Creation here, but I'm going to try an self study and see if I can get a combined mastery in Spell Creation and Runes, and maybe some kind of work with Transfiguration as well." the girl continued excitedly. Lily watched her in amusement, noting that the American was prone to gesticulating wildly with her hands as she talked.

"How about you?" Jessica asked. "Er.. well," Lily wasn't really sure. For the longest time, she'd thought she wanted to become an Auror, but now she wasn't so sure. "Maybe an Auror? Or a Healer, I guess?" She said uncertainly. "That's brilliant!" Jessica said. She seemed to have totally recovered from Sirius' insult, and was overflowing with energy. "Thanks," Lily said, smiling. "Is this it?" Jessica indicated the Fat Lady. "Yeah, it is. Did Dumbledore show you around already?" Lily asked curiously, as she provided the portrait with the password (Valor). "Yeah," Jessica said, stepping into the Common Room. "That's the Girl's dorms right?" She pointed to the curving marble staircase on the right. "Yup," Lily replied. Jessica nodded, and walked towards the staircase on the left. "Jessica? What are you doing?" "Call me Jess," she replied. "And I'm going to jinx Sirius Black's bed. Coming?" Lily stood motionless for a moment. _Jinx the bed of a Marauder? Why not? It's not like they've never done anything worse…_ She thought to herself, and followed the American into the boy's dormitory.

The room of the Marauders was not hard to find, labeled, as it was, with the boy's names. Figuring out which bed was whose was slightly more challenging, until Lily realized that the House Elves had already brought the boy's trunks up to their room, and placed them next to their owners' bed. Having isolated their target, Lily hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. "What are we going to do?" Jess grinned mischievously. "Well, seeing as how much Sirius seemed to enjoy making that Slytherin boy sing the opera, I'd say turn about is fair play, wouldn't you?" Lily snickered, and together, the Gryffindor girls began enchanting their Year Mate's living space.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, most of Gryffindor was unpleasantly roused from their peaceful slumber by the dulcet, operatic tones of one Sirius Black.

"Whaaaaaat the bloooooooooody hell iiiiiiiis goooooooing onnaaaaaaaaaah!" he sang in distress. "Shut up, let us sleep," the Marauders begged, but Sirius would have none of it. "I haaaaaaave a prOOOOOOOOblem!" He sang, going into a high soprano. "Mate, cut it out and let us sleep," Prongs snapped, pulling his pillow over his head. It was only after all of Gryffindor had been roused by Sirius' distressed, then furious, singing, that the Marauders realized that their friend was under the influence of a hex. "Don't you dare open your mouth, Padfoot," Remus warned grumpily, as they got up and dressed. "We'll deal with your vocal instability later. Preferably after breakfast."

In the girls dorms, the Lily and Jess were regretting their choice of "punishment". Jess groaned, blinking blearily and stuffed her fingers in her ears. "Shut your goddamn mouth you flipping imbecile please I'm sorry this was a terrible idea buggering bugger bug—" she chanted. Jess was, even on the best of days, not a morning person. Her mantra in the morning usually contained muttered death threats to everyone living on the hunk of rock floating in space that we know as the Earth. Finally, she could take no more. She rolled out of bead, hair an absolute mess, stomped down the stairs into the common room, then up the stairs into the boy's dorm, wand in hand. "Jess? What on earth are you doing—" James began, but a glare in his direction silenced him. Sirius fumed at the girl, opening his mouth, before Remus pointed his wand and muttered, "Silencio." Jessica ignored all of this, pointing the Dogwood wand at the currently mute Sirius Black she muttered an incantation, then waved the wand around the room, disabling the reapplication spell that she and Lily had set up the night before, that would have reapplied the jinx at the end of the day when it would have worn off. She then turned on her heel and stomped back to the Girls Dormitory, got back into bed and went back to sleep.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Sirius demanded. "Who does she think she is, barging in here at whatever time it is in the morning?" He continued, irate. "Well I, for one," Remus said calmly, "Am quite glad she did, although I do have a suspicion that she might be the one who jinxed you in the first place." "Damn straight she did, the little minx," Sirius fumed. "Oi, don't be such a berk," Peter piped up. "You were really rude to her yesterday, obviously she was upset." "Yeah well she deserved it!" Sirius exclaimed. "Honestly, I don't think she did," James commented, frowning. "I know that lots of the Slytherins are little Death Eaters in training, but not all of them are all bad! And even though Slytherin-Gryffindor relations are a sore point for you because of Regulus-" Sirius glared at him. "Fine, maybe I was a berk. But look what she did! She jinxed me! She actually had the audacity to prank Padfoot, the mastermind of the Marauders!" He exclaimed indignantly, as he moved towards the bathroom. "Careful Padfoot, with an ego that big, you might not fit through the door." James quipped. "Says the bloke who got solidly turned down by the "love of his life" for having a head so inflated with a sense of his self-worth that she didn't know how your broom got off the ground." Sirius shot back, artfully tousling his hair in the mirror. "Shut it, Pads," James mumbled, as he crouched down, searching for a stray sock under his bed. "I think you should apologize to her," Remus remarked, as he straightened his tie. "Fine, fine," Sirius raised his hands in defeat. "I'm starving," Peter complained. "Can we please get breakfast? Please?" James rolled his eyes and grabbed the offending sock from under his trunk—how on earth had it gotten there?—and pulled it on. "Typical Wormtail. Is food the only thing you ever think about?" he snarked. "I don't know Prongs, is Lily the only thing _you_ ever think about?" Peter joked. "Children, be nice," Remus said, chuckling. "Good to go Pads?" James called. Sirius nodded, took one last look in the mirror, and followed his friends out of the dorm.

Jess had unfortunately, only managed to catch an extra five minutes of shuteye before Lily had hurried over to her and shaken her awake. "Better get ready quickly if you want to get down for breakfast before everyone else," she said. Behind her stood two girls. The shorter of the two had short, black hair, large, expressive blue eyes and curvy, while the taller was blonde, brown eyed and slender. "You were asleep by the time they came up last night," Lily explained. "This is Hestia Jones," she introduced, and the black haired girl smiled winningly, "and Marlene McKinnon. We have two other roommates, Mary McDonald and Emmeline Vance, but she's they've already gone down for breakfast. Do you want us to wait for you?" Lily asked. "Yeah that'd be great. I'll be ready in a minute," Jess said, hopping out of bed. She hastily brushed her teeth and splashed her face with water, then did all the things girls do in the morning to look presentable. After carefully concealing an irritating zit, she threw her hair up on her head in a messy bun, hastily dressed in her uniform, which consisted of a blouse, her Gryffindor tie, a black skirt that was slightly short on her long legged body, and a long black robe. "Done!" she said, popping back out of the bathroom. "What happens today?" she asked as she followed the other girls out of the Common Room. "We get our class schedules today," Marlene replied. "Do classes start today?" Jess asked, slightly confused. "It depends on your schedule. Some of the more advanced classes start immediately, others don't. Most of the N.E.W.T classes do start today, though. Looking forward to school?" Hestia asked, smiling up at her. Jess smiled back. Hestia reminded her of a friend she'd had in Salem Academy. All in all, Jess was feeling quite good about coming to Hogwarts. Most of the people she'd met so far seemed kind and friendly towards her, and she felt like she'd enjoy it he—"Watch where you're going, bitch," a girl snarled, knocking into her. "Excuse you," Jess snapped, "but as you're the one who walked into me, I think you should be taking your own advice." The girl, who had stringy dark hair and a green tie that identified her as a Slytherin, turned and sneered at her. "Watch your tongue, _foreigner._ You don't have any business being here." With that, she spun on her heel rather dramatically and stalked off. Jess felt her previous assessment of Hogwarts and the friendliness of its occupants fade away, and sighed. "Don't let Alecto get to you, " Marlene said reassuringly. "Death Eater in training, that one is," came a familiar voice from behind her. _Wonderful. _Jess thought sarcastically. _Great. Just what I needed to brighten up my morning._ Turning her head, she was greeted with the undeniably attractive visage of Sirius Black. "Black," she greeted coolly. "I see you're speaking to me now. Anything else you'd like to insult me with?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lily and the others tense, watching their interaction carefully and felt grateful for their concern. "Black, maybe you should go," Lily said warningly. Sirius waved her off. "Nah," he said, looking Jess up and down appraisingly. "I actually wanted to apologize for what I said last night. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I was being a git. You aren't all bad, especially with your _charming _charms ability." He winked, grinning. Jess felt her irritation with the boy slide away. For better or for worse, she'd always had trouble holding grudges, and Sirius seemed sincere. "Fine, apology accepted. Where's James and Remus? And Peter?" she asked. Sirius grinned broadly and indicated the corridor behind him. "May or may not have been setting up a prank zone for later," he whispered conspiratorially. Jess laughed.

"Oi, Black, Peters, I'm starving. Breakfast. Now." Hestia snapped. Jess turned, and stuck her tongue out at the shorter girl. "Last one to the Great Hall's a rotten egg!" she cried, and took off down the corridor, Sirius and Hestia hot on her heels.


End file.
